Page 172 of Barbi and the Villain

“How will we find the portal?” I ask as I fold our bedding and place it aside.

Nykander comes behind me, places his hands on my shoulders, and slowly massages them.

“I have been to this realm many times during my time in the military. It was one of our most heavily guarded areas because it leads directly to Tartareia.”

“Directly? I thought the portals needed someone native to that world to operate them.” I frown.

“Yes and no. There are different types of portals. Even here, there will be the universal portal that can take you anywhere. But the one we are heading for is specifically designed to facilitate travel to and from Tartareia.”

I release a soft sigh as I lean further into his touch.

“Then we should have no trouble getting there.”

“Yes, but before we leave, I want to teach you something.”

I open my eyes to regard him.

“What?”

“Remember how I knew those men in the forest were demons? That is because of their energy signature. Anyone with strong physical abilities can judge another’s energy signature. If we go like this, people in Tartareia will be alerted that there is an Aperite deity in their realm.”

“So what do we do then?”

“I want to teach you how to hide your energy signature and move around unnoticed. It is a very simple trick, but one that will be very useful in the future.”

“Okay.” I nod. “Let’s do it.”

We finish packing our baggage and feed the dogs. As we let them play by themselves around their little pink house, Nykander and I go to a more secluded area of the forest to not disturb the dogs.

He takes a step back, his hands behind his back as he studies me.

“I told you that my kind is considered mature at three thousand years old. But what I failed to mention is that until we reach that milestone, we train nonstop to hone our abilities. It is the same for Aperite deities.”

“You…trained for three thousand years?” I gawk at him.

He nods.

“Normally, you would need to train just as much, but since we don’t have the luxury of time, I will give you a concise overview of how spiritual ability works and how you can improve.”

“Okay…” I murmur.

“A deity is born with a certain amount of spiritual ability that is inherited from both parents. But during your lifetime, you can train and evolve. Generally, you can increase your spiritual ability by fifty to one hundred percent depending on how hard you train.”

I blink in surprise. That is…unexpected. And kind of cool.

“But in order to do that, you must first reach your native potential. The first three thousand years are to max out your inherent spiritual ability, after which you start training toward increasing it. In your case, we need to find a way to max out your potential faster.”

“You mean cram three thousand years in a few days?” I mutter dryly.

He smirks.

“I never said it was going to be too easy.”

“Or feasible. How can you think that’s possible?” I frown.

“Because there are ways we can speed up your progress,” he adds.

“Okay, I’m listening,” I say as I cross my arms over my chest.

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